Country Sausage Gravy

This homemade Sausage Gravy is made from scratch and starts with ground pork and seasonings. The flavorful breakfast sausage is then turned into a delicious creamy gravy. This flavorful white gravy is the best comfort food when smothered over homemade buttermilk biscuits!

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This recipe has been viewed well over 2 million times. You can see from the 100+ comments why so many people say it is the best sausage gravy recipe they’ve ever made!

Why I love this recipe

• Restaurant quality – only better! Not all sausage gravy is the same. I have frequently ordered biscuits and gravy at restaurants only to be disappointed.
• Quick and easy to make. Only a few basic ingredients are needed to make this homemade sausage gravy recipe.
• Made with homemade breakfast sausage. You can certainly pick up some pre-made sausage from the butcher shop or grocery store, but it is so easy to make with ground pork mixed with just the right seasonings.

I’ll admit it: I’m a food snob about this one. I can’t handle the thought of someone making breakfast gravy from a packet. I make this all the time. Biscuits and gravy is our Christmas morning tradition, and we always make it for Father’s Day too.

Ingredients needed

The exact quantities are listed in the recipe card below, but here is a quick summary.

• Breakfast sausage: about half the time I use my homemade sage breakfast sausage, and the other half I use bulk breakfast sausage from the meat counter. It just depends on what I have on hand.
• Butter: only as much as you need. You want about 3 tablespoons of fat in the pan, from the sausage, the butter or both.
• All-purpose flour: this thickens the gravy. For a version without wheat flour, see my gluten-free country sausage gravy.
• Whole milk: for the richest, creamiest gravy. It’s the only milk I use for this recipe.

Homemade Breakfast Sausage Seasoning

This is the question I get the most: where are the amounts for the seasonings you see in the video? They’re in my sage breakfast sausage recipe, because the sausage is its own recipe. For 1 pound of plain ground pork, mix in:

• 1 tablespoon sage
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon marjoram
• 1 pinch ground cloves

Yes, the brown sugar goes into the sausage, not the gravy. Mix it all together with your hands, then go straight to browning it. There’s no need to let it sit overnight.

You can buy seasoned breakfast sausage in bulk without any casing from most meat departments, however, I prefer to start with plain ground pork and make my own sage breakfast sausage. You can also use sausage links and remove them from the casings.

How to make sausage gravy

Step 1: Prepare and cook the sausage

If you are making your own homemade breakfast sausage, you’ll need to mix together the ingredients. Combine the ground pork with sage, salt, brown sugar, black pepper, red pepper flakes, marjoram, and cloves.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the sausage. Break up any large pieces and continue cooking until the sausage is sufficiently browned. Ground pork is fully cooked at 160°F, with no pink left.

Step 2: Add butter to the sausage

When I make my homemade breakfast sausage, there is never a significant amount of residual sausage grease or rendered fat, so I add butter. If you have excess grease, you can skip this step.

KRISSY’S RECOMMENDATION: Any time you’re cooking ground pork (or ground beef for that matter), make life easier by using an OXO Good Grips ground meat chopper. It breaks the sausage into small crumbles fast.

Step 3: Add flour

Sprinkle about four tablespoons of flour over the cooked sausage, give it a stir and let the flour cook for a few minutes. This will allow the flour to absorb some of the fat and turn golden brown to create a wonderful roux to thicken the white sausage gravy.

Step 4: Add milk to create gravy

Pour the milk over the sausage mixture and stir well to combine. Reduce the heat, and continue stirring with a flat-bottomed wooden spoon over medium heat until the gravy thickens.

PRO TIP: Be patient once the milk goes in. Sometimes you’ll be stirring for a long time and it really seems like it’s never going to thicken, but it eventually does.

Common Sausage Gravy Problems (and How to Fix Them)

Almost every problem readers tell me about comes down to the fat, the flour or patience.

• It’s runny and won’t thicken: give it more time first. Keep stirring over medium heat; it can take 10 minutes or more. If it’s still thin, your sausage may have given off more fat than mine does. Whenever I make a roux, I use equal parts fat and flour, and I aim for that same ratio here. If there’s a lot of grease in the pan, sprinkle in a little more flour next time to match it.
• It tastes like flour: cook the flour in the fat a little longer next time, until it starts to turn golden, before the milk goes in.
• It’s lumpy: sprinkle the flour over the sausage and stir it in to coat everything before you add the milk. I’ve never had lumps doing it that way.
• It’s bland: taste it and add salt. Whenever something tastes flat, salt is usually what’s missing. Homemade sausage and store-bought sausage season the gravy differently, so taste before you serve.
• It’s darker than the photos: that depends on the sausage, the herbs in it and how long the flour browns. Darker gravy is fine; it just has a toastier flavor.

★★★★★

“This was the best sausage gravy I have ever made. Thank you for the perfect recipe!”

Karen, reader review

Recipe variations and substitutions

• For a little kick, make this recipe with spicy pork sausage. To make spicy sausage, you can increase the red pepper flakes, or add some cayenne pepper.
• Use fresh herbs instead of dried ones. If using fresh, be sure to mince them very small and use about three times the amount of dried herbs you would use. Breakfast sausage tastes especially amazing with fresh sage.
• Spicy or mild Italian sausage will work in place of the breakfast sausage. It will create a different flavor from traditional country sausage gravy though.
• Turkey sausage can be used in place of pork.
• Leftover or stored bacon grease can be used in place of the butter.
• Do not substitute the butter with margarine.
• I highly recommend using whole milk for a richer flavor, however skim milk or lowfat milk can be used. Readers have also used 2%, lactose-free milk and half-and-half. Lower-fat milk makes a thinner gravy that takes longer to thicken. I’ve never made it with heavy cream, so I can’t recommend it.

Country Gravy vs. Sausage Gravy

Country gravy is the white, peppery milk gravy made from a roux of fat and flour, the one that goes on country fried steak and buttermilk fried chicken. Sausage gravy is country gravy with browned breakfast sausage cooked right into it, so the sausage fat becomes the base of the roux. If you want the same creamy gravy without sausage, try my country bacon gravy or my vegetarian country mushroom gravy.

Storage and reheating

• Doubtful you’ll have any leftovers, but if you do, the sausage gravy can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Refrigerate it within 2 hours of cooking and eat it within 3 to 4 days.
• I recommend reheating leftover Southern sausage gravy in a saucepan over medium-low heat. Any kind of cream sauce or gravy should always be reheated low and slow. Stir in a splash of milk to loosen it, and heat it until it’s bubbling hot all the way through.
• If you want to make this gravy ahead of time, you can just reheat it when you are ready to serve. This works great if you’re planning on making a classic Southern breakfast for a special occasion.
• I’ve never frozen it myself, because we always finish it within a few days, but readers tell me it freezes well. To freeze, store leftover gravy in a freezer bag and squeeze all the air out before placing it in the freezer. Allow the gravy to thaw completely in the refrigerator before reheating. Milk gravies can separate a little after freezing, so whisk it well as it reheats.

Serving suggestions

• Make homemade biscuits and gravy. The best biscuits are my homemade buttermilk biscuits, however, you can use a mix (like Bisquick) to make drop biscuits. You can even buy the kind that comes in a tube.
• Serve this sausage gravy over eggs. It’s especially good over scrambled eggs.
• Top a breakfast casserole with sausage gravy. My family loves my biscuit and gravy casserole, but you can add the warm gravy to any kind of breakfast casserole.
• Serve over potatoes. Whether you make some easy breakfast potatoes, hash browns, or french fries, smother those potatoes with some gravy.

How many servings does this make?

About six servings of roughly 3/4 cup each. If biscuits and gravy is the whole meal, it’s more like four big portions.

Can I double or quadruple the recipe?

Yes. The cooking time stays about the same; you’ll just need a bigger pan. Keep the fat and flour in the same proportion so the gravy still thickens.

Can I add more black pepper?

Of course. I usually grind fresh black pepper over each serving, but you can stir it right into the gravy for a peppered gravy.

Can I use whole wheat flour?

I haven’t tried it, but a reader who uses wheat flour says it adds an extra dimension of flavor. Expect a darker gravy.

Other great biscuits and gravy recipes

If you love biscuits and gravy as much as we do, here are a few more of my favorites.

Country Bacon Gravy

Gluten Free Country Sausage Gravy

Biscuits and Gravy Casserole

Flaky Buttermilk Biscuits